Darius Acuff Jr., who is on pace to become the first since Pete Maravich in 1970 to lead the Southeastern Conference in scoring and assists in the same season, is The Associated Press player of the year in the league.
With Acuff averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists, the 17th-ranked Razorbacks earned the No. 3 seed in this week’s SEC tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.
Arkansas and 14 other teams open bracket play trying to knock off defending national champion and fourth-ranked Florida, which has won 11 in a row and 20 of its last 22. The top-seeded Gators’ late-season surge earned Todd Golden coach of the year honors in voting released Tuesday.
Golden, who revamped his starting lineup and his coaching staff after cutting down the nets in San Antonio last season, received the majority of votes cast by reporters who cover the SEC. Vanderbilt’s Mark Byington and Texas A&M’s Bucky McMillan also received votes.
“He deserves 100% of the credit,” Florida forward Alex Condon said Tuesday. “The amount of hours and time and effort he’s put into this program is unmatched. He’s the face of everything we do.”
Acuff received all but three votes for player of the year, with the others going to Florida’s Thomas Haugh. Acuff was the only unanimous choice on the first team.
The 6-foot-3 freshman from Detroit tops the SEC in minutes played and assist-to-turnover ratio. He also ranks second in 3-point shooting, hitting 43.7% from behind the arc.
Acuff and Golden also earned player and coach of the year honors from SEC coaches Monday.
Acuff was a nearly unanimous choice for AP’s freshman of the year, and Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, a Maryland transfer who is averaging 18.0 points, 5.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals, was the newcomer of the year. Gillespie beat out Dailyn Swain of Texas and Keyshawn Hall of Auburn.
First team
Guard — Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas, Fr., 6-3, 190, Detroit.
Guard — Labaron Philon, Alabama, So., 6-4, 185, Mobile, Alabama.
Guard — Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt, So., 6-0, 175, Brentwood, Tennessee.
Forward — Thomas Haugh, Florida, Jr., 6-9, 215, New Oxford, Pennsylvania.
Center — Rueben Chinyelu, Florida, Jr., 6-10, 265, Enugwu-Agidi, Nigeria.
Second team
Guard — Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State, So., 5-11, 190, Madison, Mississippi.
Guard — Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee, Sr., 6-1, 188, Greeneville, Tennessee.
Swingman — Dailyn Swain, Texas, Jr., 6-8, 225, Columbus, Ohio.
Forward — Nate Ament, Tennessee, Fr., 6-10, 207, Manassas, Virginia.
Forward — Alex Condon, Florida, Jr., 6-11, 236, Perth, Australia.
Individual honors
Player of the year — Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas.
Coach of the year — Todd Golden, Florida.
Freshman of the year — Acuff.
Newcomer of the year — Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee.
Voting panel
Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle; Toyloy Brown III, The Advocate; Travis Brown, KBTX-TV; David Cloninger, The Post and Courier; Mike Griffith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal; Thomas Murphy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Mia O’Brien, ESPN Radio; David Paschall, Chattanooga Times Free Press; Ben Roberts, Lexington Herald-Leader; Ally Schniepp, Columbia Missourian; Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel; Lauren Walsh, WSMV-TV; Jacob Waters, Opelika-Auburn News; Mason Young, Tulsa World.
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